One day left. Thank you!

Just over a day left in the Kickstarter and we’ve shown all our cards. No more announcements, no more surprises, just a day left to spread the word, try to push as hard as we can, and maybe a minute to feel a little relief before hustling through SXSW next week and putting our heads down to work harder than ever before.

It’s an amazing thing that’s happened, and I can’t/won’t stop saying thank you.

Thank you.

The truth of the matter is that we’ve been operating basically unfunded since day 1. For those who don’t know, nonprofits can’t take investments. Starting an organization of any kind is hard. Starting a nonprofit is fucking hard. So far we’ve funded this thing through side jobs, working nights and weekends, and getting voluntary contributions from artists and labels that we’ve worked with. Personally, it’s been a struggle — but one I believe in with all my heart. Help has come from musicians, from our board, but this is the first time that we’ve seen major public support and it’s amazing. Thank you.

We never said it but this campaign was a make-or-break moment for us, and you’ve made it in a big way. Even once fees have been deducted this Kickstarter campaign represents more funding than we’ve had in the history of CASH Music, combined. In an industry where startups compete with seven and eight-figure budgets we’re going to use this to build something that can change the world. And when I said “we” it doesn’t mean a handful of people anymore — it’s all the artists and labels who have helped us, it means our board, and it means the almost-1100 backers on Kickstarter. Never before have I been so thrilled to be just a small voice in a larger chorus. Thank you.

(Except for fifth grade chorus. We sang MJ’s “Man In The Mirror” and I was painfully shy. I pretty much just mouthed the words while the rest of the chorus sang. Sorry, Michael. I just couldn’t. I was so shy.)

And there’s one thank you that needs to be said. Thank you to Maggie Vail for turning this all around. She’ll be modest, but that’s bullshit. About six months ago Maggie moved from the board into a day-to-day role, splitting the Executive Director duties with me. It changed everything — she’s focussed the platform and refined the message to a point where more people can understand what we’re trying to do. Without her we couldn’t have turned this corner, and she makes a difference every day. Thank you.

So to all the artists who have helped, the labels, the publicists, my family, and now the supporters on Kickstarter: Thank you!

We’ve got just over a day before the Kickstarter campaign ends. Let’s finish strong:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cashmusic/cash-music-platform